When I started to investigate the impact of food on the environment a month ago I thought I would find myself fretting over food miles. In fact transport is a tiny component of agriculture’s worldwide contribution to greenhouse gas emissions.

No, the main culprit is out there in the fields, chewing her cud. It turns out that livestock – predominantly cattle – are responsible for an astonishing proportion of global warming gases – 18 per cent of the total, to be precise.

That’s right, almost a fifth of all emissions which is more greenhouse gas emissions than all the transport on earth – planes, trains, cars, skidoos the lot.

OK, on to cherry picking the Global Warming as Caused By Man report, starting on page 7, which has a chart of "phenomenon and trends." One such trend is "Intense tropical cyclone activity increases." The report states that "likelyhood of a human contribution to observed trend" is "more likely then not." Getting beyond the fanciful scientific jargon (sic), this is directly contradicted by page 6, which states "There is insufficient evidence to determine whether trends exist in the meridional overturning circulation of the global ocean or in small scale phenomena such as tornadoes, hail, lightning and dust-storms."

More highlights:

Average Northern Hemisphere temperatures during the second half of the 20th century were very likely higher than during any other 50-year period in the last 500 years and likely the highest in at least the past 1300 years. (deeply scientific, eh? I'm still waiting for any hard data, other then "we don't really know)

Most of the observed increase in globally averaged temperatures since the mid-20th century is very likely due to the observed increase in anthropogenic greenhouse gas concentrations. (more "hard" science. snicker)

It is likely that increases in greenhouse gas concentrations alone would have caused more warming than observed because volcanic and anthropogenic aerosols have offset some warming that would otherwise have taken place. (there's that "likely" word again)

You know what? I am getting tired of counting the number of likely's in this document, and I am only on page 9

For the next two decades a warming of about 0.2°C per decade is projected for a range of SRES emission scenarios. Even if the concentrations of all greenhouse gases and aerosols had been kept constant at year 2000 levels, a further warming of about 0.1°C per decade would be expected. (they cannot even tell me what the weather is going to be with 100% confidence 10 days out, and they want me to believe this)

Models used to date do not include uncertainties in climate-carbon cycle feedback nor do they include the full effects of changes in ice sheet flow, because a basis in published literature is lacking. (at least they are honest is saying they don't have evidence)

Increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations lead to increasing acidification of the ocean. (actually, it leads to melting ice, leading to more cold, fresh water, which is reduced salinity.)

Based on a range of models, it is likely that future tropical cyclones (typhoons and hurricanes) will become more intense, with larger peak wind speeds and more heavy precipitation associated with ongoing increases of tropical SSTs. (didn't we already cover this BS?)

Page 18 has charts and diagrams, which comes to the conclusion that temperatures worldwide have gone up less then 1 degree Celsius since 1900. Quite frankly, yawn. The Little Ice Age ended around 1850 or so. So, of course the temperatures have gone up. Interesting that the land has gone up a little more the 1 degree, without any mention of causes, such as radiational heating from urbanization, which includes blacktop, concrete, large buildings and cities, less grassy and forested areas, etc.

What the whole report comes to is "we think this might sorta possibly kinda happen." I have to wonder how Galileo would have been recieved if he had said "gravity is likely to make things fall." Global Warming is kinda like Christopher Columbus, who went on a government funded expedition to find a new route to China and India. There was no science involved, just a ferverent hope that going across the Atlantic would take him there. His results weren't quite what he expected, either.

You know, the only thing missing is the request for more funding in this political report.

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